"No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best."

This new page will include general kitchen tips, and maybe a few non-kitchen ones, as I accumulate them. Please feel free to comment on the tips and suggest some of your own. I will include as many of them as I can.

If your suggested tip comes from someone else or a publication, please give credit where credit is due; no last names will be posted, however, unless the name is of a celebrity or esteemed expert. In other words, Grandma Helen Smith will be referred to herein as “Grandma Helen S.”, but Julia Child will be “Julia Child” and Rachael Ray will be “Rachael Ray”.

Don’t hesitate to offer the most trivial tip. What may seem trivial to you, could be a divine revelation to me. I promise I won’t laugh at anything submitted; I may not include it here, but I won’t laugh.

Here we go:

1. I buy parchment paper from King Arthur Flour in packages of 100, approximately 12 X 16 inches. I use it nearly every time I bake on cookie sheets. It can save lots of time not having to scour. You can cut them to fit any pan.

2. (From me) – You’ve seen the cooking shows where the chef grabs a small handful of salt to throw in whatever concoction is being made. My mom always had a “salt cellar” on top of her stove for that dash of salt. So do I. I reach in and grab a dash, a pinch, a bunch or measure as accurately as needed.

3. I also have a custard cup with a mixture of salt and pepper I use for eggs, and other oft-prepared dishes. I sometimes add other things to it, but the base is always salt and pepper. Kind of a homemade “Mrs. Dash”.

4. I keep a Sharpie in the kitchen for 2 special reasons: (1) I mark the date and where bought on plastic freezer bags as I put items to store in the freezer; (2) I mark the date on the top of canned goods and other staples before putting them in the pantry. This is so I can identify the oldest items and use them first.

5. Need a quick something to take to a potluck dinner? No time for something fancy? Grab a jar of salsa, add the juice of a lime, some minced green onions, and a small handful of minced fresh cilantro. Put it in a cute little serving bowl, surround with taco chips, and you will have people asking for the recipe! I guarantee it.

6. I always keep a handful of spring-loaded clothespins in the kitchen “junk” drawer. They are handy to close up a bag of chips, a bread bag or any other such item.

7. Are there recipes you fix over and over again but you still seem to forget exact amounts, or you’re afraid that you’ll forget one important ingredient? I keep about 10 recipes taped to the inside of my kitchen cupboards for quick reference. I have a handy conversion chart taped there as well.

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I keep my used dryer sheets to soak pans or casserole dishes that have food stuck to them. Just fill the pan w/ warm water, a dab of dish soap, and a dryer sheet…best to soak several hours or overnite. They wipe clean in a jiffy! No scrubbing!!

all from Michael Smith Chef At Home
1. if you chill cooked food faster it will be safer as well as last longer in the refrigerator, maximum of 2 hours of sitting out on the counter, also put it in the bottom of the refrigerator as that is the coldest area
2. if you stir melted butter/warmed milk into your mashed potatoes they won’t get gluey like if you add them cold to the hot potatoes
3. the magic temperature for deep frying is 365 degrees, any colder the food absorbs too much oil, any hotter and it burns
4. if you heat and stir the corn meal and milk together first in a saucepan until thickened then scrape into a oven-heated cast iron pan to cook it really makes fantastic cornbread, also use brown sugar instead of white for a richer, moister cake.
4. if you puree the canned tomatoes you use for any sauces it makes a thick, lovely sauce instead of a chunky, watery one.

my own tips
1. I like to roll pastry dough on cornstarch instead of flour as I found it makes the crust flakier and cleans up easier
2. I add 1/4 cup of real mayonnaise into cakes baked with flour other than wheat as it makes them moist and rich
3. I like to add applesauce to my chicken and turkey stuffing along with the onions and herbs to make a moister, slightly sweeter, stuffing but still let the savory taste shine through – it helps that it is homemade applesauce made from Sunrise apples.